


Operation Check Yes or No

by avengersandco



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengersandco/pseuds/avengersandco
Summary: Steve just wants Tony to notice him, but he’s not sure how. Lucky for him, his friends help him make a plan to capture the attention of the one he wants.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 125
Collections: Stony Loves Steve 2020





	Operation Check Yes or No

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hundredthousands](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hundredthousands/gifts).



> This is my Stony Loves Steve 2020 fill for hundredthousands! Beta’d by @aisu_hawk and title came from @stevesnarkrogers. Thank you so much for the help y’all!

Much to people's surprise, Steve preferred the future over the past. He didn't really understand why people assumed that it was the latter, except maybe nostalgia. Sure, Steve missed some of the people - and getting used to the 21st century took some time- but it really was better than what he used to have.

Technology was, of course, one of the pros. Being able to connect with others and have all the information in the world at his fingertips was something he never could have even dreamed of. Civil rights were better now, even if that topic could be questionable at times. The diversity in food was easily one of his favorite things about the future, being that he now had access to foods he never used to, or even would have thought of from before he was frozen, like indian food, peruvian food, and ethopian food - there were so many kinds of new foods to discover.

The only thing about the future that was better than the food, Steve thought, was Tony Stark. Tony Stark, whose eyes always shone so bright that it rivaled the arc reactor in his chest. Tony Stark, whose brain was almost universally unrivaled. Tony Stark, who had the biggest heart of anyone Steve had ever met and could bring a smile to anyone's face. Tony Stark, who barely seemed to acknowledge Steve’s existence.

Steve knew pretty quickly that the feelings he had for Tony were ones he had never felt before. Sure, he had really liked Peggy, maybe even thought they could have had a life together, but the attraction that he felt for Tony was on another level. Not that he could tell Tony that, or anyone, for that matter.

"You know Tony left five minutes ago, right?" Steve was taken from his thoughts by Natasha's voice.

"Hm?" Steve tried to come off as confused as she and Bruce walked into the room, which Steve now realized was empty, except for himself. 

“You’re really not that subtle about liking Tony, Steve, and that’s coming from me.” Bruce pointed out, sitting down on the chair across from him while Natasha sat next to Steve on the couch.

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about.”

“Really,” Natasha said, raising an eyebrow. “You’re going to try and lie, to me, about your feelings?”

“Fine.” Steve caved, “I like Tony, but it’s not like anything is going to happen. He barely notices me. I’m just a teammate to him.”

“I don’t thi-“ Bruce was starting to say before Natasha interrupted.

“Then why not do something about it?”

“What?”

“He’s never going to see you as more if you do nothing except stare at him all the time. You have to put yourself out there so he notices you as more than just a teammate.”

“I’m not ready to ask him out,” Steve said quickly.

“You don’t have to do that yet,” Bruce said, “but you have to actually do stuff with Tony that doesn’t include things only teammates do.”

Steve thought about it, and realized they were right. Steve didn’t really do much with Tony outside of team stuff, so how was he supposed to get Tony to think of him as more?

“What should I do? I’m terrible at talking to people, especially Tony. I just get nervous every time I see him.”

Natasha and Bruce didn’t say anything to that, but both looked as though they were thinking, when Natasha spoke up.

“Think about it like a mission. The end-goal is to go out with Tony, but you gotta do recon and build rapport before that.”

“That’s… actually not a bad idea.”

“You can even give it a name if it helps you,” Bruce mentioned.

“Operation Get Tony to Notice Me?”

“Maybe something a little more subtle than that.”

“What about Operation Check Yes or No?”

That made Steve laugh a bit.

“Yeah, Operation Check Yes or No sounds good.”

They continued to talk, brainstorming things that Steve could do, before everyone turned in for the night, but at least a plan was set in place. Steve always worked better with a plan.

Tomorrow would start Operation Check Yes or No, and hopefully soon, Steve and Tony would be on their first date of many.

———

Steve's first attempt at Operation Check Yes or No was... sad, to say the least. Asking Tony to work out with him probably wasn't going to help him achieve “more than teammate” status.

"Do you have a specific workout you want to do? "Tony asked, "We could spar? That's always good practice for the field, and we could invite anyone else who's around."

Steve realized his mistake when Tony brought up sparring. He didn't mean it as a team thing, he meant it as a way to spend time with Tony and show-off.

"Ummm…. I was actually thinking we could go on a run!" Steve said. He saw Tony scrunch his face a bit before Steve added to this suggestion. “We could do a short run and get ice cream on the way back?"

"I'm pretty sure you and I have different ideas of what a short run is.” Tony said with a grimace.

“I know a loop that is about five miles and ends with that fancy ice cream place two blocks away that you really like.”

“Hmmmmm…..” Tony thought as Steve tried not to seem nervous waiting for his answer. “Okay. To be honest, I was already sold when you said ice cream, but also five miles is manageable. You’re paying, though. I’ll meet you in the lobby in fifteen.”

———

Steve's next attempt at getting Tony's attention was admittedly, much better than the first, though required a bit more manipulation.

Steve had done some research to figure out a "problem" with his bike, and asked Tony to give it a look.

"I think there's just something wrong with the battery. Have you not ridden it enough?" Tony asked, and Steve shrugged - choosing not to mention that he had actively not ridden it for over a week - except to make sure his lights were never turned off to make sure the battery died.

"Well, it's a pretty easy fix; It either just needs a jump start, or a new battery, but I'm pretty sure I have one that would work for your bike. I can get it done within the hour." 

"Oh,” Steve started, "You don't have to do it right now. I'm sure you're busy with other things right now."

Steve was glad when Tony ignored him, shaking his head.

"It's really no problem. I like helping my friends out. You can even wait in here if you want while I do it." 

With that, Tony walked back over to Steve's bike. He was aware that Tony probably hadn't meant much by what he said, calling Steve his friend and offering to let him stay, but Steve's heart did somersaults at the words. It wasn't where Steve wanted them to be, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. He couldn't decide if he should just stay where he was or go talk with Tony, though. Talking with Tony would obviously help Tony feel more friendly towards him, but what if he didn’t like being distracted while he worked? What if he started to find Steve annoying? On the other hand, what if Tony found it rude to just wait for the bike to be fixed, as if Tony were just a worker? Before Steve had a chance to decide, Tony spoke up.

"All finished! Told you it wouldn't take long. It was a pretty easy fix, and you pro-" 

"Do you want to go on a ride with me?" Steve blurted out. Tony looked a bit confused and taken aback, so Steve had to recover quickly.

"I mean, just to make sure everything is working okay." Steve wasn't sure if what he said was making any sense, but he saw Tony give him that heart-melting smile, and Steve suddenly didn't care what the answer was.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Just give me a few minutes to go get my jacket." Tony walked out of the lab, and Steve had to control himself in not shouting with excitement at the win.

———

Because Steve had not grown up with a lot of options in terms of food, cooking was never really Steve’s forte. However, a few nights ago he heard Tony mention how much he loved sushi, and Steve decided he was going to use this to his advantage. Steve was able to rope Sam, the tower's best cook, into helping him get all the ingredients and help with all of the prep.

"Are you sure there's enough food?" Steve asked, looking at all the ingredients spread across the counter. He hadn't eaten sushi many times before, so he wasn't sure how much they actually needed.

"Definitely. This could feed at least five people - probably more - but I want leftovers, so it's okay.”

"Good. Thanks Sam, I appreciate it. Now please leave." Sam laughed, but still left, nonetheless.

Steve had convinced everyone in the tower to "coincidentally" be out the one night Steve decided to cook, so that he would be able to spend some time alone with Tony. Once Sam left, and he checked that everything was set, Steve went on the hunt to go and find Tony. As Steve expected, Tony was in his lab, but it didn't take long for Steve to realize that he was on the phone - and it didn’t sound like a very pleasant conversation.

"Well the board is wrong, the stock is not going to go up if w- yes, I kno- but I'm te- FINE! I'll look at their stupid idea again and see if I can figure out a compromise. I'll talk to you tomorrow. JARVIS, end call."

Once Steve saw that Tony was done talking, he knocked on the door of the lab, and walked in. Tony looked up to see Steve, and gave a small sigh.

"Please don't tell me you need something. I'm sorry if that sounds rude, but I have had a long enough day and I still have things I need to finish."

"Nothing’s really wrong, but I did make stuff for a make-your-own-sushi dinner, and thought you would want to join me.”

Tony looked at him for a minute, his face changing to one that almost looked suspicious.

"Sure, why not? That sounds fun. Lead the way!” Tony got up and followed Steve to the kitchen.

"That’s a lot of food for just two people." 

"Yeah, I thought it could be a team dinner, but everyone ended up being out tonight." Steve lied. He felt bad doing it, but at least he got Tony alone.

"You didn't think to check with people first?" Tony chuckled. "You're usually quite the planner." Steve blushed. Could Tony tell something was up?

"Slipped my mind, I guess. I got excited about the idea after a youtube video I watched this morning." Tony was laughing again.

"Well I appreciate it. This will be a perfect break to a lousy day. Now hand me a piece of seaweed."

"A break?" Steve had been hoping to try and convince Tony to watch a movie tonight as well, though that might have included the rest of the team once they got back.

"Unfortunately, yes. Still got a lot of work to do for the S.I. board to make sure they don't do anything stupid. But like I said, this will be a perfect break."

———

Six weeks. It had been six weeks since Operation Check Yes or No, appropriately dubbed so by Natasha, started and it felt like little had changed. Bruce, Natasha, and now Sam, were pushing Steve to just bite the bullet and ask Tony out.

"What if he says no?"

"You have spent the past six weeks making it very clear that you like him." Bruce had explained, "From going on rides together, and you making him food, to even bringing him coffee every morning. You made him sushi, and you aren't even a fan of sushi!"

"But w-"

"Just trust me when I say, he'll say yes." Once Natasha said that, Steve knew that it was pointless to argue.

He discussed with Sam how he should do it, who said Steve just needed to go and ask him. No huge grand gestures were needed, just a nice, straight to the point 'will you go on a date with me?’

Even if he didn't want to admit it, Steve knew they were right. That didn't make doing it any easier. He still wanted to plan it out to try and guarantee a good outcome.

There was no way of that being possible, but that didn't stop Steve from trying. It was late at night, late enough that everyone else was asleep, when Steve was sitting in the living room, thinking of how and when to ask Tony out. As he did so, he also sketched Tony, reminding himself of how much he loved Tony's soft brown eyes and adorable nose and chiseled jaw a-

"Is that me?"

Steve whipped around, seeing Tony looking over his shoulder from behind the chair he was sitting in.

"I- uuuhhhh- what?" Steve was sure his fair skin was now bright red from embarrassment as he attempted to hide the picture, but Tony stopped him, pulling the pad of paper out of Steve's hand. As horrified Steve was, all he could do was stare at Tony in shock while Tony continued to examine the picture. The only thing that could have made it worse wa-

"Will you go on a date with me!?"

And... he made it worse. Maybe the universe would be nice to him and just swallow him into the earth right now.

Tony just glanced up at him with a smirk before looking back at the picture.

"I was wondering when you were finally going to ask me out."

I was wondering when you were finally going to ask me out? He knew?

"You knew!? How?" Steve was also aware that Tony hadn't actually answered his original question. 

"When you brought me your bike. I noticed you leaving the lights on on purpose, but didn't really connect all the dots until you asked me to go on a ride with you."

"That was nearly a month ago, though. Why didn't you mention anything sooner?"

Tony finally looked up, looking a little ashamed as he made eye contact with Steve.

"Okay so maybe I wasn't completely sure I had connected the dots yet." When Steve didn't say anything, Tony continued. "I may have been harassing Natasha to see if she knew anything, but she wouldn't say anything except ‘why don't you ask him yourself' until yesterday when she got frustrated and said 'you fuckers are both so thick. The dumbasses are perfect for each other' in Russian when I asked her again. JARVIS translated and I figured it out."

"That sounds like Natasha." Was all Steve could think of to say. They both sat there in silence for a bit, neither too sure of what to say. 

"You know," Steve finally said, "you never answered my question."

"Which one?"

"Will you go on a date with me?"

Tony grinned, but a little differently than his usual smile. "On one condition."

Steve's heart sank. He couldn't think of any good conditions to come from this. "What?"

"We make Natasha think we still have no idea what's going on."

Steve couldn't help himself. He started laughing so hard he accidently let out a snort.

"Deal, but Bruce and Sam need to be included in that because they were helping me as well."

"Helping you?"

Now it was Steve's turn to look a bit ashamed. "They may have been pressuring me and helping me with ways to talk to you. We called it Operation Check Yes or No."

"That's actually really cute. Like in grade school when you passed a note to your crush. Oh, and the other condition is that I'm keeping this." Tony said, pointing at the picture.

"Don't keep that one. I can do much better and it's not even finished."

"Nope! I want this one. If I don't get to keep it, then no date. Deal?"

Steve smiled. "Deal?”

"Good. Now where do you want to go? If you're not too tired, now might be a good time to go, so we can keep it a secret from the rest of the team."

"Want to walk through Central Park? We can get a hot drink and just walk around."

"Well, I think I would say check yes to that," Tony said, giving Steve a peck on the cheek.

Operation Check Yes or No: Complete.


End file.
